GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp
October CMS vulnerable to Potential Host Header Poisoning on misconfigured servers
Blast Radius
october/backendReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
When running on servers that are configured to accept a wildcard as a hostname (i.e. the server routes any request, regardless of the HOST header to an October CMS instance) the potential exists for Host Header Poisoning attacks to succeed. See the following resources for more information on Host Header Poisoning:
- https://portswigger.net/web-security/host-header
- https://dzone.com/articles/what-is-a-host-header-attack
Patches
A feature has been added in v1.1.2 to allow a set of trusted hosts to be specified in the application.
Workarounds
-
Apply https://github.com/octobercms/library/commit/f86fcbcd066d6f8b939e8fe897409d152b11c3c6 & https://github.com/octobercms/october/commit/f638d3f78cfe91d7f6658820f9d5e424306a3db0 to your installation manually if unable to upgrade to v1.1.2.
-
Check that the configuration setting
cms.linkPolicyis set toforce.
Alternative Workaround
Check to make sure that your web server does not accept any hostname when serving your web application.
- Add an entry called
testing.tldto your computer's host file and direct it to your server's IP address - Open the address
testing.tldin your web browser - Make sure an October CMS website is not available at this address
If an October CMS website is returned, configure your webserver to only allow known hostnames. If you require assistance with this, please contact your server administrator.
References
Reported by Abdullah Hussam
For More Information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Email us at [email protected]
Threat Assessment
<img width="1108" alt="Screen Shot 2021-01-15 at 4 12 57 PM" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/7253840/104783859-92fb3600-574c-11eb-9e21-c0dc05d230a9.png">Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | october/backend | all versions | 1.1.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for october/backend. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update october/backend to 1.1.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-xhfx-hgmf-v6vp across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.